|
New Hampshire
strives to improve mental
health services
(August/September
2006 Issue)
By Catherine Robertson Souter
In 2002, as part of a commitment to eliminate inequality for Americans
with disabilities, President Bush created the New Freedom Commission
on Mental Health, an act that has created a wave of positive reform
by individual states across the country.
In 2005, the New Freedom Initiative propelled the New Hampshire
state legislature to pass a bill of their own (HB692), creating
a commission that would "develop a comprehensive state mental health
plan." The commission was charged with a goal of creating a five-year
plan that would improve the delivery of mental health services across
the state.
The New Hampshire Mental Health Commission has been meeting for
a little over a year, according to Erik Riera, director of the state's
Bureau of Behavioral Health, a division of the Department of Health
and Human Services.
"They plan to meet regularly until 2008," he says. "The goal is
to develop a comprehensive plan and then to oversee the implementation
of the plan."
The commission is required to provide regular reports to the state
legislature and intends to draft a final plan this winter. The first
interim report, created in December 2005, outlined the way the commission
planned to address identified issues.
Several workgroups would focus on a specific area of the system.
For example, one group would be in charge of "Quality of Services"
while another would be responsible for "Integration of Mental Health
and Primary Health Care."
Each workgroup is expected to submit a draft list of recommendations
to the commission for a vote early this winter. The plan then goes
before the state legislature for approval before it can be implemented.
While it can take time for these processes, it doesn't mean that
nothing is being done in the interim. According to Riera, the Bureau
of Mental Health, which has a number of staff members involved in
the workgroups, has already initiated several changes as a result
of the meetings.
"As different areas are being identified by the work groups," says
Riera, "here at the Bureau of Behavioral Health we've been bringing
these things back and trying to incorporate as much into our budgeting
process as possible. Things that are brought to our attention we
are trying to run with."
In addition, the commission received a grant from the Endowment
for Health, a non-profit foundation that funds efforts to improve
the health and well-being of New Hampshire residents. The money
is being used to hire an administrative assistant, a part-time consultant
and to bring in expert consultants.
These consultants are helping the Bureau to make some of the changes
brought to light in the workgroups. The Bureau has worked with one
expert on improving consumer and family input in the provision of
services and another to implement a telepsychiatry system in the
state.
"Another area that has been identified is the collection of data
for decision making," says Riera. "BBH has spent the last 18 months
designing a state-of-the-art data collection system to automate
statistical reporting and federal reporting from providers set to
come on line in September."
With the drive and funding on hand to make the kind of changes
that have long been needed, a better future lies ahead, according
to Riera. He adds that it is a great opportunity to see the mental
health picture as a whole and to bring it all into line for the
benefit of both consumers and professionals.
|
